Check out these astonishingly lame agribusiness quotes responding to Monday’s MFA cruelty investigation at Country View Family Farms. Rodney “Butch” Baker, president of the American Association of Swine Veterinarians, says:

I have no patience for anyone who abuses animals or no tolerance and I don’t think anyone should, but these films really are an attack on the rural lifestyle of America.

Is Baker suggesting that the rural lifestyle of America is based upon rampant animal cruelty?

And here’s the National Pork Board’s statement:

The pork industry condemns the abuse of any animal. America’s pork producers take their ethical responsibility for the proper care of pigs seriously and will not tolerate any mistreatment of animals.

See, right after a pork producer gets caught perpetrating horrific animal abuse, it’s a rotten time to make blanket declarations that pork producers won’t tolerate animal mistreatment. If that were indeed the case, the Pork Board would be demanding immediate and permanent closure of the plant. Instead, as I write this, I can’t find a single reference to the investigation anywhere on the Pork Board’s website. In fact, the main story is currently about some chef winning the “Taste of Elegance” competition. Imagine that. Link.